Using Linux to telecommute

I have an older computer running Win98 at home and want to use it to telecommute to occasionally=2E I have a cable modem so speed isn=92t an issue, but my OS is=2E Win98 is not compatible with my company=92s Webmail=2E A techie at lunch suggested that a combo of Linux and Mozilla might be able to handle it, and I must confess that I=92ve been toying with the idea of learning more about Linux=2E Problem is, I don=92t know where to start=2E Can anyone recommend a Linux distribution that is free and easy for someone new to the OS to work with?

I do not see why there should be an problem with compatibility, I have
a freind that runs Win 98 and the latest version of Netscape and has
no problems with any e-mail. If the e-mail is viewed on line then a
new version of IE may be needed. Beyond that all the information on
Linux here is good and I have not had any problems with Linux getting
e-mails. RedHat 9.2 Workstation has Mozelle already part of the
package and Open Office has the MS Office compatibility for working
with most downloads you will have.

---------------Original Message---------------
>Gentoo=2E It just works=2E Installation can be a little intimidating, but it's a
>worthwhile investment=2E
>
There's a couple of options if you don't want the full "Compile everything" Gentoo experience as well - you can go for a "Stage 3" install, in which a lot of the compilation is already done for you=2E You could also have a look at the VidaLinux OS, which is a packaged, "desktop" version of Gentoo=2E

My personal choice for home is Slackware, but I tried a number of other distros before deciding=2E

Over the last couple of years, a lot of the mainstream distros have moved towards charging for their offerings - the benefits are usually better support, more robust and complete offering etc and you can usually get the vanilla versions of the current release levels for around the =A350 mark.

I've used all of the above and found them good - my own favourites are Libranet and SuSE; SuSE has a really neat installer and configuration/package manager called YAST. Libranet 2.81 has a text-based installer and uses the Debian package manager, which is quite complex, though powerful, but 2.81 also contains a graphical interface to the package manager, which I've not had any problems with, although it is a fairly early release.

If your old machine is very low on resources, there also some minimalist distros (see www.linux.org/dist/index.html and select "minimalist" in the drop-down). Some of those also run under MS-Windows and may provide a way of gaining familiarity without discarding 98 just yet.

On the Webmail side - I don't know what your webmail servers are - if your webmail is provided via Microsoft Exchange Servers, then you're probably best with Ximian Evolution mailclient and the Ximian Exchange connector. (I think both of these are now owned by Novell, but not sure and I think they're both free. Lot's of distros bundle evolution. You usually need to download and install the connector separately.

You might also want to start with Knoppix. Not as a permanent
solution, but as a quick test to verify that Linux and Mozilla will
work for you. Knoppix will allow you to run straight from CD, without
needing to install anything.

Why not try downloading a copy of Mandriva or perhaps one of the Debian
distros. I believe Mepis and Ubuntu are all Debian based, and Mandriva
or Fedora Core 3 are all basically RPM based beasts. If you are running
on a low end machine, and by that I mean something low end Pentium class
and low ram, try the Debian distros, with a 2.4 kernel, and a
lightweight desktop like IceWM or XFCE. If you are running something
fairly speedy, then try the Mandriva/Fedora route and try out the KDE
desktop, which looks a lot like a Windows box, and has a lot of bells
and whistles which raises the need for more speed and RAM.

Mandriva also has a pretty good selection of lightweight desktops so
you could run that if you have a Pentium of some flavor. Since you are
a newbie for Linux, I suggest Mandriva, as it is pretty easy to install
and set up, and you can download the ISO images off of a lot of
different mirrors, and get updates from the same mirror you download
from, if you run Community version.

Google a bit for Mandriva or Mandrake (the old distro name, but still
around with 10.1 I believe.) I run it here and use it for EVERYTHING,
including my wife's machine. It's a pretty good distro to start out with
and I still like it a lot. You can get a bit spoiled by all the GUI
tools, but the command line is always there under it all if you want to
dive in and get going. Ask your buddy at work what he thinks of
Mandrake/Mandriva and go from there.

I would suggest trying Debian http://www.debian.org/ jujust burn a network
install disk and do an ftp desktop install. It will take a while but it
will solve all the dependencies for you. Or you could just burn a SUSE LIVE
CD and boot to it and surf send email what ever and it never touchs your
hard drive. Good luck.

Well, of course there are a lot of flavors to taste. I am very comfortable
with Fedora in my hard disk. However I am using some live CD as jollix,
vigyaan and suse 9.2 (I followed Steve suggestion for the last one)

In my opinion, comming from RedHat and then Mandrake (now Mandriva), I've
latched on to Gentoo. It's more work out of the box getting it installed, but
an excellent distro with free auto-upgrade package management - something
redhat stopped doing, and mandrake as well. You'll learn more about linux on
gentoo because they leave more up to you during install, and explain how to
install the different programs and services that other distros take care of for
you - leaving you the ability to fix things when they go wrong. I've found
often the fancy system-config gui's of Mandrake to not function properly
leaving you totally handicapped when there's a problem.

From on e LINUX newbie to another, I suggest downloading several different
LINUX flavors in the form of a live-CD. That way you can see what they look
like, how well they detect your hardware, and any particular feature you
might want. If you use the live-CDs, it is very easy to make a comparison
of features without actually doing an installation. The best part is the
live-CD approach is it does not mess up your current installation.

Only those who risk going too far will ever know how far they can go
(Alexander Woolcott)

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